


forever is not enough

by Talinor



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 18:10:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9670205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talinor/pseuds/Talinor
Summary: The thing about fire, though? It doesn't last forever.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i needed to write a fic where keith died instead of lance   
> i have no idea why  
> it's like midnight rn and i wrote this in like an hour but i'm actually?? a bit proud of this??  
> title's from don't let me go by raign   
> enjoy

Fire.

The element fit Keith perfectly- bright, beautiful in a deadly way, hot air with the burning bite to follow it up. Fire was useful, providing light and warmth to those who were around it. A signal in times of loneliness and desperation. It saved lives.

Yet it could destroy them just as easily. Fire was ruthless and reckless, razing nearly anything that could get in its way. It commonly left scars and other various marks on the enemies who faced it and somehow got out alive. It's smoke could burrow the way to the lungs, taking up space where air should be.

Lance knew all of this, but he didn't mind one bit. He went through the flames willingly, trudging ahead despite the obstacles. The heat licking at him didn't bother him. The smoke failed to fill his lungs.

Mainly because no matter what Keith threw at him, Lance naturally countered it. Fire ruled over ice, but water washed away any damage the flames could throw at him.

To be fair, Lance usually started it. Flicking droplets at the logs constantly until he got some kind of reaction. It was fun to see the flames pop and surge up, sending dozens of golden flakes into the air. 

Sometimes he got burned. Literally and metaphorically. Nothing that lasted too long, though.

Because despite how different the two were, or how much they'd butt heads (which was pretty often), there was no real animosity between them. He might poke the fire and tease Keith a little, but he would never dream of doing anything to actually hurt him. They were a team. 

And a damn good one at that.

Over the years, they individually became forces of nature. Something to be reckoned with. But together? They were practically unstoppable. Water so hot it scalded without mercy. Fire so cold it left numbing burns.

Not to mention their equilibrium outside of combat. Eventually, things grew... steamy between them. Literally and metaphorically.

For years, everything was perfect. The fire burned brightly.

The thing about fire, though? It doesn't last forever. 

Sometimes it runs out of fuel before you're ready for it to flicker out.

That was the best way to describe what happened to Keith- he flickered out too soon. Lance assumed Galra lived about the same time as humans did; if not longer, like Alteans. He figured they had plenty of time left for the stuff he wanted to do with Keith- retire back to Earth, get married, adopt and raise a couple kids, grow old together. Reminisce about the 'good old days' on the front porch in rocking chairs as the sun set. Stuff like that.

He never even thought of this as a possibility.

Yet there he was, sitting at the side of Keith's bed in a sterile hospital-esque room on the Castle. Mainly used for operations the healing pods couldn't fix, but now it was being used as his fire's deathbed.

Keith was sleeping at the moment- slept most of the time now- his breathing slow and audible. The makeshift heart monitor Pidge and Hunk made was to Lance's right. The pause between beeps was a bit longer than it had been yesterday, but his condition was steady. For now.

He was only 42, but looked much older than that. His skin was weathered and wrinkled, bones jutting out of the thin skin of his hands. Only a few wisps of black hair remained on his head. Patches of purple in various sizes littered his skin. Old scars on his skin seemed to pop out more. Like some kind of ghastly reminder- _this could have happened earlier. Quicker. Easier than this._

_"He's very lucky," Coran's words rang in his head. "Most Galra halfbreeds don't live as long as he has."_

Right now, he wasn't sure if Keith really felt lucky. He might have preferred something quicker- something to pinch out his flame in an instant, rather than letting him dwindle to embers.

A soft hitch in breath from the bed brought him back from his hypotheticals. He saw Keith's eyes slowly crack open, immediately landing on his visitor. He gave Lance a weak smile. "Hey." His voice was scratchy and rough, like the inside of his throat was replaced by thick sandpaper.

Lance smiled down at him. He looked to the one thing that hadn't changed over time- those deep violet eyes. They still held the same steady heat they always had. "Hey there, handsome." He said. "Your mullet looks better."

Keith let out a weak attempt at a laugh. "And here I thought the jokes about my hair went with it," he said. "Glad to see _some_ things don't change."

"You and me both, hun."

"You know," a shaky hand weakly grasped for his. Keith's voice grew softer. "It... won't be too long now."

He interconnected their fingers into the spaces between each other, fitting perfectly in the spaces. "Please," his own voice wavered out of his control. His vision blurred. "Don't talk like that." 

Keith's hand weakly squeezed his. "But it's true," he said. "And I've accepted that. I just..." He trailed off, and let out a sigh. "...Never thought I'd go out this way, y'know? Always figured I'd go out on the battlefield, that one of the bullets fired at us would be the One."

"There have been a lotta bullets," Lance admitted halfheartedly.

"Exactly." He let out a shuddering breath. The pause between the beeps grew the tiniest but longer, a detail Lance wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't memorized the timing. Keith cast his eyes down as he continued on. "Thought I'd go out in... a sacrifice or something. A... a blaze of glory. Not... lying in bed, just _waiting_ to die." Keith met Lance's eyes once more. "But can I tell you something?"

Lance nodded automatically, leaning forward a bit. "Anything."

Keith's eyes shone as he smiled. "I don't regret a thing." A hand went to touch Lance's face, straining to stay there. Lance leaned into the touch. He blinked, letting a tear fall. "Especially not you, Lance Rosales." The pauses grew longer. "I... love you." He barely heard the whispered words. Didn't notice the final puff of breath that passed his lips, finally blowing out the flame.

"I... love you too, you-" Then it hit him. He moved his face away from Keith's hand, watching with wide eyes as it fell limply to the bedside.

No.

_No._

_Nonononononono--_

"....Keith?" He ignored the droning beep that filled the air. The heart monitor just malfunctioned, right? He lightly pushed Keith's shoulder. Tears were falling freely now, flowing like a river. "Keith, baby, if this is a joke, i-it's not funny."

No response. 

A loud sound filled the air. It was a heartbreaking scream, so full of raw unbridled emotion and unlike anything he ever heard before he thought he must've imagined it at first.

And then he realized it came from him.

**Author's Note:**

> keith my son im so sorry  
>  _lance_ my son im so sorry  
>  comments are always appreciated  
> come yell at me on tumblr: squishy--squish


End file.
